Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 31.djvu/267

Rh be carefully hung over with sheets and cloths to prevent witches from entering; but all locks and bolts should, on the contrary, be opened, else the event will be retarded.

If the new-born infant be weakly, it is usual to put yolks of eggs, a glass of old wine, bran, or sawdust into its first bath.

Very important for the future luck and prosperity of the infant is the day of the week and month on which it happens to have been born. Sunday is of course the luckiest day, and twelve o'clock at noon, when the bells are ringing, the most favorable hour for entering upon life. If a Sunday's child have its fingers rubbed with oil on every seventh birthday (7th, 14th, 21st, etc.), it will henceforward be able to perceive underground treasures through its transparent finger-tips.

Wednesday children are Schlabberkinder—that is, chatterboxes; Friday bairns are unfortunate; but in some districts Saturday is yet more unfortunate, while in other places they are merely supposed to grow up dirty.

Whoever is born on a stormy night will die of a violent death. The full moon or growing moon is favorable, but the decreasing moon will produce weakly and unhealthy babes.

All children born between Easter and Pentecost are more or less lucky, unless they happen to have come on one of the distinctly unlucky days, of which I here quote the most important. These unlucky days are:

 January 1st, 2d, 6th, 11th, 17th, and 18th. February 8th, 14th, and 17th. March 1st, 3d, 13th, and 15th. April 1st, 3d, 15th, 17th, and 18th. May 8th, 10th, 17th, and 30th. June 1st and 17th. July 1st, 5th, 6th, and 14th. August 1st, 3d, 17th, and 18th. September 2d, 15th, 18th, and 30th. October 15th and 17th. November 1st, 7th, and 11th. December 1st, 6th, 11th, and 15th.

I leave it to more penetrating spirits to decide whether these seemingly capricious figures be regulated on some hidden system, the mystic workings of which have baffled my understanding; so that I am utterly at a loss to explain why January and April have the greatest number of unlucky days assigned to them, while June and October have the smallest proportion; and why the 1st and 17th are hardly ever harmless, while all days between the 18th and 30th are invariably good.

Both mother and child must be carefully watched over during the first few days after the birth, and all evil influences averted. The visit of another woman who has herself a babe at the breast, may deprive